R
Raginhemi
Member
So a buddy and I decided to go to Jones Pass yesterday. We headed up the trail that beats you to death and then took the route to Jones Pass. Instead of taking the trail to the left, we stayed straight and followed all of the other tracks. We followed that for a while and then veered left up a hill. Once we got on top of that hill, we saw an untouched bowl waiting to be conquered. So we found a place to drop in and went sliding down the steep hill. We finally got to the bottom and played in some amazing, untouched snow. We spent a couple hours down there hitting jumps and boondocking. The snow was fresh and deep. It was a dream. We soon wondered why.
We decided to leave and attempted to climb out. This hill was very steep. We tried 4 or 5 times. We had trouble because of the grade, deep snow and boulders sitting right under the powder. We would get momentum, but then hit a big rock on the way up throwing you to the left or right. We couldn't keep the sleds straight. My buddy bent a control arm on one attempt. I didn't sustain any damage. I did hit plenty of rocks though.
We decided to change course. We headed to the bottom of the bowl and took the valley to hopefully find a smaller hill. Well that didn't happen. Luckily, we found two old snowmobile tracks. We followed the tracks through trees, gullies and little meadows. The riding was unbelievable. But, we weren't sure where the tracks would lead us. We kept following the tracks until we finally hit a trail. The trail had a lot of fresh snow. We followed the trail until we came to a parking area with a couple trucks in it. We ran into a lady walking her dog and she told us the directions to Winter Park Ski Resort.
We followed her directions and ended up at a ski run. We had the ski patrol escort us to the bottom of the run to Timber Lodge. We parked the sleds and went to the ski parking area. We were hoping to find someone heading over Berthoud Pass. After about an hour, nobody was heading that way. Yeah right! Anyways, I took the ski bus to the intersection of 40/Winter Park Drive. As soon as I got off the bus, I immediately got a ride with a father and son from Wisconsin. They were very nice people. He drove me back to my truck at Jones Pass parking. I thanked him over and over. This is the first time I ever had to hitch a ride. I hooked up the trailer and headed back to the resort. We loaded up the snowmobiles and got out of there before dark.
I ride a Polaris 800 RMK Vertical Edge with a stage 1 setup. My buddy rides a Polaris 800 RMK Vertical Escape with a stage 2 package. We both have 159 inch tracks. We are very good riders. Yes, we looked at the bowl like kids opening gifts at Christmas. We didn't even think about getting out. I guess we lived and learned on this one. It was a very sunny day. Thank god! We had beacons, cell phone, 2-way radio and a gps. We never got worried, but did wonder. Just thought I would share our adventure. Peace!
We decided to leave and attempted to climb out. This hill was very steep. We tried 4 or 5 times. We had trouble because of the grade, deep snow and boulders sitting right under the powder. We would get momentum, but then hit a big rock on the way up throwing you to the left or right. We couldn't keep the sleds straight. My buddy bent a control arm on one attempt. I didn't sustain any damage. I did hit plenty of rocks though.
We decided to change course. We headed to the bottom of the bowl and took the valley to hopefully find a smaller hill. Well that didn't happen. Luckily, we found two old snowmobile tracks. We followed the tracks through trees, gullies and little meadows. The riding was unbelievable. But, we weren't sure where the tracks would lead us. We kept following the tracks until we finally hit a trail. The trail had a lot of fresh snow. We followed the trail until we came to a parking area with a couple trucks in it. We ran into a lady walking her dog and she told us the directions to Winter Park Ski Resort.
We followed her directions and ended up at a ski run. We had the ski patrol escort us to the bottom of the run to Timber Lodge. We parked the sleds and went to the ski parking area. We were hoping to find someone heading over Berthoud Pass. After about an hour, nobody was heading that way. Yeah right! Anyways, I took the ski bus to the intersection of 40/Winter Park Drive. As soon as I got off the bus, I immediately got a ride with a father and son from Wisconsin. They were very nice people. He drove me back to my truck at Jones Pass parking. I thanked him over and over. This is the first time I ever had to hitch a ride. I hooked up the trailer and headed back to the resort. We loaded up the snowmobiles and got out of there before dark.
I ride a Polaris 800 RMK Vertical Edge with a stage 1 setup. My buddy rides a Polaris 800 RMK Vertical Escape with a stage 2 package. We both have 159 inch tracks. We are very good riders. Yes, we looked at the bowl like kids opening gifts at Christmas. We didn't even think about getting out. I guess we lived and learned on this one. It was a very sunny day. Thank god! We had beacons, cell phone, 2-way radio and a gps. We never got worried, but did wonder. Just thought I would share our adventure. Peace!
